RINGGOLD, Ga. -- C.J. Easley would have putted out under normal circumstances or at any other hole during the final round of the Evitt Foundation RTC Junior All-Star.
Instead, he dropped a marker behind his ball on No. 18 at WindStone.
He had less than a foot left on his putt. But he marked it so he could drop the last putt of the tournament and earn the applause of the gallery before removing his visor and shaking hands with his competitors.
Jenny Bae, of Lawrenceville, Ga., putts from off the green at No. 17, on her way to a 5-under, 208 tournament score in the American Junior Golf Association competition Thursday, June 04, 2015, at Windstone Golf Club."This is going to bring a lot of confidence to my game," said Easley, who hails from Oxford, Miss., and plays out of the Ole Miss Golf Course.
Easley, who is entering his freshman year of high school, shot an 8-under-par 205 over three days for his first American Junior Golf Association tournament victory in his fifth attempt. Dacula's Luka Karaulic finished runner-up in the boys division by two strokes and Wil Gibson of Jonesboro, Ark., placed third at 5 under.
Dalton's Carter Pendley tied for 31st, the best finish of any area player.
"I was just trying to play as well as possible and try to get into the top 10," said Karaulic, who started his round on No. 10 and shot a 5-under 66 for Thursday's best performance.
C.J. Easley, of Oxford, Miss., walks and watches his approach shot fly toward the par-5, 17th green Thursday, June 04, 2015, in the American Junior Golf Association tournament at Windstone Golf Club. Easley won with an 8-under, 205 for the tournament.Karaulic birdied five of his final eight holes.
"I saw Auburn and Georgia Tech coaches were following me, and that put pressure on me," he said. "I play better under pressure. Now I know I can win one of these."
Lawrenceville's Jenny Bae won the girls division with a 5-under-par 208. She topped Katherine Muzi of Walnut, Calif., by two strokes and China native Sophie Guo by four. Chatsworth's Savanah Satterfield closed with a 75 and led the local contingent with an 18th-place finish.
"I told myself that I need to relax and play at my pace," said Bae, who is entering the ninth grade. ""I did feel pressure today, but I tried to forget about it.
"It's not a hard course to me. I just don't like all the walking."
Easley enjoyed his stroll up and down the hills at WindStone and kept his game plan very simple even though he entered the final round trailing Alex Hu of China by a shot. Easley birdied No. 7, bogeyed No. 8 and birdied No. 15. He made par on the 15 other holes and said he hit 16 greens in regulation and had 34 putts in the final round.
Easley's opening round was a 65 that included a triple bogey on No. 4, which played as a par-4 hole for the tournament. He made 14 birdies and an eagle in his 54 holes, as well as four bogeys, a double and that opening-round triple bogey.
Hu owned a one-shot lead as he and Easley took a shuttle from No. 9 to No. 10. Hu bogeyed the next two holes and completely fell out of competition with a triple bogey on No. 16 and a double bogey on No. 18. Karaulic, Easley's closest competitor, signed his card at least 45 minutes before Easley and the final group finished.
"My plan was to hit fairways and aim for the middle of the greens, and I didn't worry about what everybody else was shooting," Easley said. "I knew that if I played my game that it would be pretty good.
"I played conservative golf."
He and Bae also played winning golf.
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.